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Books > Earth & environment > Geography > Regional geography
Malta and the End of Empire (1971) examines the now-forgotten moment in 1956 when the people of Malta, Gozo and Comino were asked by the British and Maltese Governments to decide whether they wanted full integration with the United Kingdom – a remarkable proposal which ran quite contrary to colonial policy at the time. This possibility of an end to empire by the absorption of a colony into the state system of the imperial power was being attempted by France and Portugal, but this instance was the sole case in British colonial history.
The Ruins of Time (1975) examines the conquest of the Maya by the Spanish, the discoveries and adventures of the first travellers among them, the dramatic journeys of Victorian archaeologists and explorers and also contemporary attempts to unravel Maya hieroglyphs.
The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa (1894) is an important work of in-depth research into one of the principal indigenous communities of West Africa. The territory of the Yoruba peoples extends over the southern parts of western Nigeria and eastern Dahomey, and this book examines their religion, customs, laws and language, and contains an extensive appendix comparing the Tshi (Oji), Gã, Ewe and Yoruba languages.
Parliament as an Export (1966) deals with the adoption of overseas countries and particularly the Commonwealth countries of the British Parliamentary system. These countries examined are the original British colonies, the Dominions, the Indian sub-continent and the newer colonial territories.
Vasco da Gama and His Successors (1970) looks at a range of Portuguese explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the most important being Vasco da Gama, whose first voyage to India ushered in a period of European conquest and empire, and established direct and permanent contact between Europe and the Far East.
Imperialism and Social Reform (1960) examines British social-imperialism and the development of social-imperial thought: the promotion of a ‘people’s imperialism’, or the support of the working classes for the imperialist system. It looks at the social and economic background and analyses the various forms of social-imperial thought, including the vigorous strand of imperial-socialists, who asserted that the welfare of the working classes depended upon imperial strength.
Where the Waves Fall (1984) centres the stories of the Pacific Islanders and how they were affected by European explorers and colonisers in this unique account of human settlement and cultural interchange in the Pacific islands. It follows the fortunes of the seafarers who discovered island after island in the world’s largest ocean, traces the development of their civilisations and examines in depth the interaction between them and the newcomers – European explorers, traders, beachcombers, missionaries, merchants – who from the sixteenth century came in an increasing series of waves. The book’s framework enables the author to throw new light on hitherto isolated events. Novel suggestions are advanced as to why some islands became ‘kingdoms’ in the earlier years of European contact and why others did not, and of how and why missionaries were accepted on some islands but not on others. Nor does Professor Howe shrink from provocative and at times controversial arguments concerning the ambitions and strategies of island leaders and indeed the overall nature and extent of the initiatives taken by the islanders.
History of the Conquest of Peru (1959) contains a detailed analysis of the political, religious and social organisation of the Incas prior to the arrival of the Spanish colonisers, and then moves on to look at the story of the conquest and subjugation of the Incan Empire, the largest in South America.
Dual Legacies in the Contemporary Caribbean (1986) is a comparative and systematic study of the legacies bequeathed by British and French colonial rule in the Caribbean. It examines in detail what are self-evidently among the more tangible legacies from the era of slavery presently manifest in the region: the pattern, structure and decline of the sugar economy in the French and Commonwealth Caribbean; the continuing influence of Britain in the pre- and post-independence political systems of the Commonwealth Caribbean, as well as of France over its Caribbean possessions; and the retention and adaptation of cultural forms derived from colonial practice as variously exhibited in the educational and ideological beliefs current within the region. These essays offer provocative insights and report intriguing parallels between the British and French experiences in the region. They also offer new interpretations of the processes at work in the area and confirm the utility of the comparative approach in appraising its problems.
The Turning Point in Africa (1982) is a significant study of British colonial policy towards tropical Africa during a critical decade, from the complacent trusteeship of the inter-war years to the strategy of decolonization inaugurated after the Second World War. Charting a course through a wide variety of official sources and private papers, the work assesses the importance for colonial policy of the Colonial Office, the Colonial Service, the Labour Party, African nationalists, and of ideological and moral preconceptions. The revolution in African policy is investigated with a wide and yet detailed approach. Special attention is devoted to the effects of the Second World War on Britain and its empire and to the importance of American anti-imperialist pressure on the British Government. The importance of three men – the adviser Lord Hailey, politician Arthur Creech Jones and civil servant Andrew Cohen – receives attention and an assessment is made of their contribution to a policy which, from 1948 onwards, led to a rapid decolonization in large parts of Africa. The significance of this policy is analysed in detail. The British aimed at ‘nation-building’: indirect rule was to be replaced by the forms of English-style local government while rapid constitutional progress at the centre was to be conceded, in accordance with a preconceived model, once powerful nationalist movements had arisen. However, as the book shows, progress at the centre was introduced prematurely and outstripped reform in local government so that progress was not the balanced development the British had wished to see. Decolonization had been given an irreversible momentum by British planning.
Fabian Colonial Essays (1945) brings together a host of leading thinkers to discuss different aspects of colonialism. It examines socialism and imperialism, colonial development, economics and colonialism, social services amongst other issues, all through the lens of 1940s British progressive politics.
The Struggle for Asia 1828–1914 (1977) studies a classic case of rival imperialisms. British leaders tended to believe that Russian expansion threatened India; Russian leaders came to believe in a British threat to their empire. Each sought security by trying to control the policies of weaker states which lay between their imperial frontiers and on whose alignment depended the balance of power. By 1914, when both felt even more threatened by Germany than by one another, Russia seemed to have gained the upper hand in a struggle for hegemony in Asia which had been crucial for the course of world politics. This book examines the intellectual origins of the ‘Great Game’.
Crime, Justice and Society in Colonial Sri Lanka (1987) examines Sri Lanka’s justice system under British rule, and concentrates on two of its aspects: the effectiveness of the administration of law and order, and the relationship between crime and social change. It argues that the colonial judicial system did penetrate rural areas, but did not operate in the way the British intended. Instead, Sri Lankans adapted the state institutions so that they functioned more effectively within indigenous culture.
In the half century preceding imperial control approximately eight hundred Britons lived and travelled in East and Central Africa. Prelude to Imperialism (1965) examines their relations with and attitudes to African tribal societies. The author presents a broad survey of tribal life, an analysis of culture contact, and an extended discussion of the underlying assumptions of the British evaluation of Africans and of the conditions in which they lived. The description of African social conditions and the analysis of grass roots imperialism constitute important contributions to the debate on Western imperialism.
Race, Power and Social Segmentation in Colonial Society (1987) studies Guyanese society after slavery and specifically examines the area of social classes and ethnic groups. It also focuses on the theoretical issues in the debate on pluralism versus stratification and provides a detailed interdisciplinary analysis of the process of structural change in a composite colonial society over a significantly long historical period – over half a century.
The English and Colonial Bars in the Nineteenth Century (1983) explores the impact of a changing society on the legal profession. Of central concern is the practising bar of England and Wales and its evolution from a small, highly centralised profession to a mass body that had lost much of its corporate unity. This study also examines the role of the inns of court as forging members of the governing elite and looks at the participation of barristers in the world of business, as well as considering the structure of the colonial legal profession.
In Defence of British India (1984) illustrates the problems arising from the British need to defend an Indian empire against the fluctuations in the European balance of power, preferably by isolating the empire from the European political system. The strategies devised by Britain to forestall and later to counter the expansion of European empires into the Middle East are known as the Great Game, which began in 1798 in response to the French invasion of Egypt. Later, the British planned an offensive in the Middle East itself as a means by which to defend their Indian empire.
Perspectives on Imperialism and Decolonization (1984) is a key collection of essays that analyse from many sides the growth and demise of Western imperialism. They examine imperial history, the experience of imperialism, and offer new thoughts on British decolonization.
The "Russian Idea" in International Relations identifies different approaches within Russian Civilizational tradition — Russia’s nationally distinctive way of thinking — by situating them within IR literature and connecting them to practices of the country’s international relations. Civilizational ideas in IR theory express states’ cultural identification and stress religious traditions, social customs, and economic and political values. This book defines Russian civilizational ideas by two criteria: the values they stress and their global ambitions. The author identifies leading voices among those positioning Russia as an exceptional and globally significant system of values and traces their arguments across several centuries of the country’s development. In addition, the author explains how and why Russian civilizational ideas rise, fall, and are replaced by alternative ideas. The book identifies three schools of Russian civilizational thinking about international relations – Slavophiles, Communists, and Eurasianists. Each school focuses on Russia’s distinctive spiritual, social, and geographic roots, respectively. Each one is internally divided between those claiming Russia’s exceptionalism, potentially resulting in regional autarchy or imperial expansion, and those advocating the Russian Idea as global in its appeal. Those favoring the latter perspective have stressed Russia’s unique capacity for understanding different cultures and guarding the world against extremes of nationalism and hegemony in international relations. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Russian foreign policy, Russia–Western relations, IR theory, diplomatic studies, political science, and European history, including the history of ideas.
Karim examines the changes and continuity of Indonesia’s foreign policy in the post-authoritarian era, under presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo. Indonesia conceptualised and aimed to adopt four principle roles after 2004 – being a voice for developing countries; being a regional leader; being an advocate for democratic and human rights; and being a bridge-builder. These roles, however, were by no means stable, and were constantly being negotiated and contested. Karim analyses the contested nature of Indonesian foreign policy, and the limits this places on consistency in enacting these roles. He highlights two drivers for such limitations – conflicting role conceptions, and state fragmentation. He develops this argument based on four case studies of Indonesia’s engagement in human rights governance and trade governance at both regional and global levels. Essential reading for students and scholars of Indonesia’s foreign policy, that will also be of substantial value to those studying policy in Southeast Asia more broadly.
We think vulnerability still matters when considering how people are put at risk from hazards and this book shows why in a series of thematic chapters and case studies written by eminent disaster studies scholars that deal with the politics of disaster risk creation: precarity, conflict, and climate change. The chapters highlight different aspects of vulnerability and disaster risk creation, placing the stress rightly on what causes disasters and explaining the politics of how they are created through a combination of human interference with natural processes, the social production of vulnerability, and the neglect of response capacities. Importantly, too, the book provides a platform for many of those most prominently involved in launching disaster studies as a social discipline to reflect on developments over the past 50 years and to comment on current trends. The interdisciplinary and historical perspective that this book provides will appeal to scholars and practitioners at both the national and international level seeking to study, develop, and support effective social protection strategies to prevent or mitigate the effects of hazards on vulnerable populations. It will also prove an invaluable reference work for students and all those interested in the future safety of the world we live in.
Memory in Hungarian Fascism: A Cultural History argues that fascist memory had a key role in the historical formation and later return of fascism. Tracing the trajectory of a perennial figure of fascist memory, the cult of Eszter Solymosi, from interwar Hungary through the Cold War West to contemporary Hungary, the book covers a century of fascism and offers a unique combination of fascism studies and memory studies. How did fascists challenge liberal memory after the First World War? How did the memory culture they created come to frame and feed the Second World War and the genocide? In what ways did fascist memory transform as they navigated the challenges of exile in a profoundly changed political landscape and tried to counter the postwar order? And what role did their legacy, carefully crafted for a post-Communist future, play as later neo-fascists rejected democratic transformation? Eventually, as fascist memory travelled across time and space, the book argues, it contributed to the political challenges that we face today. Based on a variety of unpublished sources, the book offers new insights for students of memory, Holocaust, fascism, and antisemitism studies, Jewish studies, Central and Eastern European history, and Hungarian studies.
In this book the experiential history of the Soviet-style social transformation projects between 1945 and 1980 is discussed through the example of rural Hungary. The book interprets state socialism as a (modernization) project. Existing socialism was a form of dictatorship in which authorities sought to transform the mentalities of their subjects from the individual level to the global scale. This project depended on socio-economic homogenization; one important method of asserting state power was the transformation of property rights (land redistribution, collectivization). Communist modernization discriminated against the inhabitants of rural areas, who were the primary victims of collectivization and the discriminatory effects of the rules implemented by policymakers. The resulting radical changes in peasant lifestyles would become a source of social pathologies. However, not the authorities but contemporary scholars considered the social costs of these actions. The book aims at Weberian disenchantment and contributes to the deconstruction of the common image of Hungarian socialism, "the happiest barrack". The intended audience includes readers at the graduate level in the fields of history, political science, and anthropology, general readers interested in the history of communism. It is hoped that the research questions inspire new research for exploring convergent and divergent elements in social transformation in former communist countries.
With a range of case studies from every continent, the contributors to this book analyze the challenges that arise for states living with much larger neighbors, and the policies they develop to account for this asymmetry. Bringing together the perspectives of bilateral relations and the study of small states, this book analyzes a range of scenarios where one or more smaller countries must manage relations with a much larger neighbor or neighbors, from the perspective of the smaller countries. Each case presents different priorities, depending on the relationship between the states concerned, while highlighting the commonalities across the various scenarios. The range of cases and contributors is wide and diverse, with examples including Togo’s relationship with Ghana, Mongolia’s with China, and Colombia’s with Brazil – as well as more widely known examples such as Canada and the United States, or Australia and New Zealand. A valuable resource for scholars and students of international relations, and public policy of small- and medium-sized states. |
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